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Friday, June 5, 2015

The Zone – no it’s not where
touchdowns are scored or a new night club or energy drink. The Zone is that space athletes and others
find where their particular endeavor seems effortless and easy while producing
excellent results. While the Zone is
most commonly associated with sports, people can and do achieve the Zone in
work, play, and other projects.

Unfortunately, people that find
the Zone often do so by accident and do not achieve this optimal state on a
regular basis. Dr. Michael Lardon, M.D has spent his life studying the Zone and
states that the Zone is less about human physiology, and more about human
determination and will. Think about a time when you ran your best race or the
project you were working on at your job seemed effortless and time flew
by. This is the Zone.

In his book Finding Your Zone,
Dr. Lardon provides ten lessons to help anyone achieve the Zone in sports, work
or any walk of life.

Dreams. Before going to bed, give yourself a nighttime
suggestion on what you want to exceed at and first thing in the morning write
down what you dreamt about, how you felt and what lead to that feeling.

Be
Prepared To Overcome the Odds. Performing at the highest level in
competition always involves thinking on your feet. Any component of your
performance that can be practiced can be automated. Practice correctly and
execute the same in competition.

Transform
Desire Into Will. The drive to discover our limits, to push and maximize those
limits, is embedded in the process of self-actualization. We must be dedicated to transform our desire
into will to achieve the Zone. How Bad Do You Want It?

Trust
Your Brain, Keep It Simple and Stay Positive. The human brain is incredibly smart. Our brain provides the innate ability we all
possess to bring forth the possibility that maybe it is better in the midst of
competition to simply trust our instincts and not over think a situation. Have a plan, practice that plan then execute
to the plan in competition. Competition is not the time to re-think situations
or change your strategy or tactics. Remember “those who think do not know, and
those who know do not think.”

Stay In
the Now and Be In the Process. Excelling in any sport or other
performance-related activity mandates that you must resist distractions of the
mind – whether these distractions come before, during, or after your
performance. These distractions might be
internal, such as psychological fears, anxiety, or pangs of self-doubt. Conversely, these distractions may be
external such as weather or a chaotic environment. The key is learning to
manage our anxiety most effectively and keep it from becoming overwhelming.

Next week we will look at the
next five lessons to help you achieve the Zone.

HERE’S TO BEING FIT FOR LIFE! Chris is a Certified Personal Trainer, USA
Triathlon Level 1 Coach, Group Exercise Instructor, exercise and endurance
enthusiast. He competes yearly in
numerous running races, marathons, ultra-marathons, triathlons and other
endurance events. He is a member of the
2015 QT2 Systems Advanced Team.

@ChrisVokaty

Feel Like A Rock Star

About Me

I have many roles in life as a husband to May, father to Elliana, Director of Sales Learning Delivery, church member and believer in Christ, fitness columnist, personal trainer, group exercise instructor, coach and endurance athlete! At 47, I am in the best shape of my life!